Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
by fevildevil
Summary: A week after Marinette and Adrien's identities are revealed, Adrien is looking for any and all opportunities to talk to his Lady, and she is looking for any and all opportunities to run away from him and their problems. Here I am, as an author, forcing the two of them into a corner to talk about their feelings.
1. ADRIEN

**Disclaimer:** Hide and seek in the dark is a game I've played with friends. I do not come from Paris and would not be surprised if they didn't have this or play this. My knowledge of games there is more than limited. So, if helps, just imagine they're Canadian/American for this one.

* * *

One could probably call this "destiny". Adrien would much rather refer to is as "uncomfortable". A great discomfort. A particular pressure that had found a way to affect both his breathing and his heart rate. What was simultaneously a gift and a hindrance. He couldn't decide whether or not he was okay with the situation. But most certainly, above all else, it was all embarrassing.

He didn't mean for it to happen. It just did. It was something he couldn't control, however hard he tried. And he tried very, _very_ , hard.

Hide-and-seek-in-the-dark was supposed to be fun, and he wanted it to be fun. It was _usually_ fun. This – where he was, and the state he was in – was _not_ something he would have described as "fun". There were probably some other words he could have used, some more inappropriate than others, but "fun" definitely was not one of them.

To make matters more awkward, he liked her. And this was not the way he had planned to show her how much he liked her. It might have worked a little better if she had perhaps been his girlfriend. The gesture might even have been endearing. But alas, he hadn't exactly made it that far quite yet.

Last week, some interesting circumstances had unfolded. Long story short, they both found out about each others' identities. If it had not been a matter of life and death, it would have never happened. But it was. And it had.

He knew she hadn't wanted to tell him. She didn't want anyone to know, least of all, for him to know. They had been partners for nearly four years, and she seemed no more trusting of him in that regard than ever. Of course, she had trusted him with her life, but by no means her identity. She only wanted him to be safe. Or, so she continued to tell him. Her intentions were pure; he did not suspect malice. But there were days when he wished she hadn't taken their identities as seriously as she did.

On the other hand, he was elated to know it was Marinette. She was a lovely girl and sweeter than anyone he'd ever known. If Ladybug hadn't been such a strong feature of his life, it would have been Marinette. And now, he didn't have to choose between the two. If not for the awkward atmosphere that promptly ensued their reveal, he would have professed his love for her right then and there.

That wasn't the case however, and the atmosphere was still weird. Marinette hardly spoke to him, and at every opportunity he found to talk, she found some excuse to leave. Clearly, he was being avoided.

Actually, he had the intention to confront her at Nino's surprise party. He had had a speech all planned out about how he didn't want things between them to go bad just because they hadn't revealed their identities the way they had hoped to. He wanted to go over what should have been said the day they had found out. He wanted to clear the air. At the very least, he wanted things to go back to the way they were. At most, he wanted to kiss her.

To his eternal shock, Adrien's father had permitted him to hold a small party for his best friend at their home. There were obviously some restrictions, but it was more than he had hoped for.

Nino finished with his cake and presents, and Adrien couldn't recall who had insisted on the game. He hadn't recalled much of anything that happened that day once Marinette had entered his home.

Something in him seemed to stall and freeze up. Such involuntary actions had become more and more common since having learned of her identity. Nothing appeared to change for her though. At least, not beyond her blatant avoidance of him.

Nino was It, having the benison of being the birthday boy. For thirty seconds, they scrambled for places to hide. The Agreste Manor was a fairly large space, even as they were banned from many areas of the house, which was made known to the group the second they entered it.

Adrien managed to secure himself a space between two walls that was made available for decorative purposes. He had explored this house countless times as a younger child and, and had the opportunity to really get to know the space he had been confined to for most of his life. He could slide into the two foot gap sideways and lean against the wall until he was found. Years ago, he could crawl in backwards and forwards with ease. When his mother had been around, they themselves would play some hide-and-seek. He would always win, and she would always pretend not to see him. He missed it.

The birthday boy was almost finished counting. Only 5 seconds remained.

26…

27…

28…

"Eek!"

Adrien's small hiding spot had suddenly become smaller. Marinette slipped into the crawl space in the last couple of seconds in a state of panic. It took another half of a second to realize who had been there before her. In that very moment, Adrien watched as her panicked expression became that of pure and utter shock and regret. The blood appeared to simultaneously drain from her face, and flush it. She looked like an adorable mess. He, on the other hand, handled shock a little differently. His throat seized and any words that could have possibly escaped his mouth were thwarted. This likely resulted in a loose jaw and unblinking eyes. He probably looked like a fish.

"Adrien!" she exclaimed, nearly revealing their hiding spot. He put a finger over his lips and glanced out from the opening, attempting to appear preoccupied and focused. All this, to mask his actual fixation on breathing normally and regulating his heart rate.

"Hi," he replied, the wind feeling like it had just been knocked from his lungs. It was a strained reply. It sounded bad. He was not off to a great start. She immediately made a move to back out of area and halted when they heard Nino's voice.

"Ready or not! Here I come!" Shit.

"I…I can leave," Marinette stammered, leaning as far away from him as possible. Adrien grabbed at her hand, stopping her. It wasn't the smart thing to do. He should have let her leave. She wasn't comfortable and she wanted to leave. And he shouldn't have stopped her. But he had.

"I'll leave. I have another spot in mind already," he said, trying to mend his ridiculous instinct. "If you leave, it'd take too long to find a new spot, and you'd get caught early, and that wouldn't be very fun." He gave her his best model smile, not trusting himself with a genuine one at the moment. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay and talk to her, like he had planned. But it wasn't the right moment, and she didn't want to be there. She was uncomfortable, and that was the last thing he wanted for her to feel, especially at his expense. He would leave.

Adrien analyzed the amount space he had to maneuver himself around her. Carefully, he stepped a foot between her legs, hoping to be strategic about the task. This, he quickly discovered, was his first mistake.

As he stood, Marinette's body was now pressed up against his own. Her hands and chest pressed up against his torso. He realized that he must have jerked upward at some point, because upon glancing down to check on his partner's reaction to his slightly inappropriate action, he noticed a very prominently adjusted bosom before him. Her slim fit, low cut, t-shirt was almost unfair; like the universe was making fun of him; like they were enjoying his suffering.

To add insult to injury, there was the alternative issue of her _leg._ She hadn't appeared to notice, but her leg was touching him in a way that was not helping the situation.

Shit.

 _Shit._

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

Things were not developing well. He had to think of something else. Anything else. Sad things. Gross things. Other things. Other things needed to be thought of. Anything other than the fact that Marinette was pressed up against him. This was a bad spot for him to be in. He should have known better than to believe that they would both be able to fit. There was only about two feet of space. Any speculation he could have had should have been considered a delusion. And now it probably looked deliberate. It was his house for Pete's sake!

Adrien's face was flooding with blood almost as quickly as his pants were. He moved his fist to nearly slam the wall next to Marinette's head, and his other hand grasped desperately to the wall behind him. Sweat formed on his forehead, his neck, and nearly everywhere else. Bracing the walls helped to ground him, even if it only helped a little bit. Something had to help. Adrien forced himself to close his eyes and concentrate on distracting himself and directing everything in his body away from where it currently was.

In his new position, he had frozen, for he knew that just one more bit of movement would put him over the edge.

He forgot how attractive he found her. He seriously underestimated how attractive he found her. This grave miscalculation was about to cost him his sanity, his reputation as a human being, and any potential relationship he could have possibly had with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. All of that was gone now. He might as well had given up. All was lost. The wall could just swallow him up for all he cared. It would have been a saving grace if the world had exploded right then and there.

"Uhm… Adrien?" Marinette whispered. "Are… are you okay?" He looked down at her concerned face, regretting the move immediately. Imagery was a whole different ball game in comparison to seeing her flushed face in the flesh. She wasn't looking at him. She was looking off to the side. And her face was probably approaching the same shade as his. She was looking away because she was embarrassed. _Oh God. She knew._

"Yea!" he lied, "I'm fine. E-everything's fine. I'm just, a little, stuck. So. Maybe we should just, wait for Nino, or someone, to find us." He could barely choke the words out. Adrien noted Marinette's stiff shoulders as she chose to relax them and slide down against the wall, and his torso. Everything was bad.

"R-right," she mumbled. They stood in silence for a moment, his panicked thoughts filling the empty air. It was a short while before Marinette became visibly uncomfortable again. A look of determination, which he had more commonly seen on the face of Ladybug, suddenly flared into her eyes. It was only allowed a brief entrance however, as she became more acutely aware of their situation and appeared to require some revaluation. "I could try to, like…" As she spoke, Marinette moved the limb he had regretted putting in between his legs. A quick shot of adrenalin rushed down his spine and he clenched his teeth to stop any, and all of the sounds that threatened to emerge, from escaping.

"No!" Adrien whimpered. Despite his best efforts, he could barely utter the word without creating unnecessary noise. He nearly screamed it, in fact. It had been the nature of the utterance. "Uh, no," he attempted to rectify. "It's okay. Please, don't move." It occurred to him that perhaps it wasn't the best idea to wait for someone to find them. The position was compromising to say the least, what with both of their faces colored with blood, and his… well, he shouldn't be seen. There had to be something else they could do. "I'm… I'm going to try… something."

"Okay."

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 **Second Disclaimer:** I'm demisexual with zero sexual experience. Any and all sexual yearning described in this story was experienced purely through the reading of other people's fics. Sorry for any inaccuracies!


	2. MARINETTE

It was not as if she had not noticed Adrien was staring at her. Quite frankly, she didn't know what to make of it. He was Chat Noir, and the idea didn't feel like it had sunk in just yet. Marinette had liked Adrien, and rejected Chat Noir's advances for so long that she felt bad. It didn't feel right to suddenly accept it all. To date him without discussion or second thought seemed like she would be casting aside all that had happened.

If it hadn't been Adrien, it would have been Chat Noir. She'd told herself that more times than she could count. But now they were the same person. Of course, she was okay with this. Her mind felt clearer than it had been for a long time. However, it was now muddled with a whole new plethora of concerns and worries.

Setting aside the fact that Adrien was the one who had been flirting with her shamelessly for the past four years, and the fact that she had been nonchalantly pushing Chat Noir away for his civilian identity, Marinette knew that she loved him. At least, that was she hoped the heavy palpitations at the idea of dating him were about. Her fear now, was over whether or not Adrien was okay with the fact that she had been Ladybug. Not once had he, as Adrien Agreste, shown a speck of interest in Marinette Dupain-Cheng; or rather, not that she had been aware of. He was friendly with her enough as it was, and they did almost kiss once (though it was for a film and not particularly a voluntary action), but he was no more friendly with her than any other of their classmates. That was to say, she didn't feel as if she were anything special to him. Not that he at all should have been obligated to make her feel that way. She was simply observing a fact.

To contrast his staring, she avoided him. Because clearly it had been the most obvious choice of action. For no reason should she have approached him and talked to him about the situation, thus dissolving the tension in the air. That action, would have been nonsensical.

Her consciousness and natural instinct were doing a very terrible job of cooperating.

Adrien looked like he had something to say to her. As he should have. As _she_ should have. They had a lot to discuss but for some reason or another, she refused to discuss it. She couldn't decide why it was. Perhaps it was the crushing fear that he wouldn't like her after discovering that she was Ladybug and that he would be so disappointed that he wouldn't want to work with her anymore and return his miraculous just to stay away from her and she'd become so clumsy without him that all of Paris would burn to the ground.

Never had she admitted that her fears were anywhere near realistic.

It was the cherry on top when she found herself in an area too small for two bodies with Adrien. Every second she stayed plastered up against his toned chest was another second she spent beating herself up over being stupid enough to mindlessly be proud of the fact that she had followed him there.

His face was so red, she didn't even need night vision to notice the change in color. Adrien had somehow managed a way to make their cramped space even more so, and her heart was nearly bursting at the fact that she could feel his pulse through his chest. Not to mention the little detail regarding an increasingly warm pressure on her right thigh. She almost wanted to tease him about it, but then she would have had to live with it until someone found them. It was flattering to say the least, but he clearly hadn't intended for it to happen.

As happy as she was that she had caused such a reaction, it still made her shy to have it made so aware to her. Marinette tried to move away, feeling uncomfortable with the circumstances now that she had thought them through, but was unable. The look on Adrien's face when he stopped her nearly drew a scream from her throat. He was beyond reason and his expression communicated that clearly. Every fiber of his being was concentrated on not making a fool of himself, though Marinette didn't see how things could get any better. She wondered how she'd feel if he stopped trying so hard. She glanced up at him briefly to get a better idea of how he was doing. His eyes were shut and jaw clenched.

He was clearly in pain, though she could not discern whether or not it was from the emotional embarrassment, or the bulge in his jeans. Asking about it didn't seem to help, and so she supposed was just meant to wait it out. It was a wonder what they had to do to mend the situation regardless. Even if they did wait for someone to find them, were they expected to be tugged out of the hovel and present Adrien's embarrassment to the ever unwilling subject on the receiving end of it? It wasn't an ideal image.

"I'm… I'm going to try… something," Adrien murmured, shifting once more. A part of her wondered how he could possibly make things worse.

"Okay," Marinette agreed. Adrien tried to shift around again, pushing against the wall behind her in an attempt to create as much space between them as possible. However, seeing as there was none to begin with, the effort was rather futile. He was clearly trying for the sake of trying, with no strategy in mind. "That's enough, Chaton," she chastised, deliberately using the nickname she had often referred to him as in costume. He inhaled sharply at the sound of the sobriquet. "We'll have to wait it out." His lips thinned and she could see the way his shoulders deflated. Marinette had already given in to the situation, realizing early on that there was no getting out of it with their dignities in tact. Although they had not moved much of anywhere at all, it felt as if Adrien was pressing up against her more than ever before. Clearly, he hadn't helped himself.

They stood in silence for a perceptively long time. Silence was probably not a good thing. It drew attention to other things when she didn't have to think about what he was saying or what she would say. There wasn't anywhere else for her mind to go except for her chest and her leg. Her shoulders were painfully tense and a part of her wanted to relax into him. Marinette took deep and heavy breaths to clear her very inappropriate thoughts, and perhaps help to ignore the fact that she could feel him sweating beneath her. Before she got the chance to consider doing anything, he spoke again.

"Marinette… I'm sorry we're stuck here like this…" He was exasperated. She jerked her head upward to look at him, shocked that he may have thought she believed this whole incident was purposeful. He was much too frantic for the case to be true. Adrien still refused to look at her.

"Oh, but it was my faul-!" Marinette quipped, meaning to explain, though apparently, he wasn't finished speaking.

"And I'm sorry about…" he paused, clearly unwilling to speak of the subject, " _that_." Her eyes widened as she was taken aback by the address. She hadn't at all expected him to allude to the elephant in the room.

"… Yea…" she muttered in reply. If she had had her way, _that_ wouldn't have been much of a problem. But she still didn't know what Adrien was thinking. She didn't know what he was okay with, what he was comfortable with, or what he wanted. And despite what she desperately wanted in that moment, it wouldn't have been fair.

"I am so, so sorry. About… everything." Since they were stuck here, Adrien supposed it was as good a time as any to have a chat with her, though she couldn't understand why. He clearly wasn't in the best of sorts. There must have been other times for him to talk to her. That being said, she didn't exactly make it easy on him. All week, she found every way possible to run from him. She was scared. He was Chat Noir and she didn't want things to change. Or rather, she knew they would change regardless of her consent, and though she was alright with change, she didn't know what Adrien wanted. She knew Chat Noir loved Ladybug, there was no question of it, but for years she was drawn to Adrien. And for those years, she loved him blindly, never even knowing enough to realize or consider that he could have been Chat Noir. And what did that say about her? What did it say about her character and her love for him? How could she want to be with him when she had desired him so blindly?

"… Me too," she responded. "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you. It… it wasn't your fault that we had to reveal our identities, and I shouldn't have treated you like it was."

"No! I understand!" Adrien placed his hands on her shoulders. The warmth and reassurance that swelled in her body from his hands comforted her. "I… you weren't ready." Marinette shook her head.

"You're right, I wasn't. But that still doesn't excuse my behavior."

"Well, then, I accept your apology." The expression on his face was tired and serene. He smiled at her in a way that made her feel like he was her everything, though she still wasn't sure if that was the way he truly felt.

"And I accept yours," she giggled. His hands fell to her arms and he refused to let go. It was a much more intimate touch and rather different to the one now in line with her groin.

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 **Author's Note:** Thank you all so much for your words of appreciation! This should be 3 chapters long if everything goes as planned. Never fear! I'm nearly finished writing it.


	3. ADRIEN CONT

**Disclaimer:** I have no confidence in my ability to write smut. Forgive me. Oh, also, there's a lot of smut (?) in this chapter.

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"Do you think things will be alright?" Marinette said, breaking the silence that followed their touching moment.

"What do you mean?" He had asked, though he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Don't give me that!" she stifled her laughter, still very aware that they were playing hide-and-seek, and it brought his attention back to reality. Their conversation was not one he would want a seeker to catch them having. They both laughed for a moment before she became solemn. "We both know how much you love Ladybug." She wouldn't look his way, and he realized he didn't know what to say to her. At least, not at first.

"And you're Ladybug," he stated, as if reminding himself of the fact.

"Sort of." Marinette shrugged.

"You're Ladybug," Adrien reaffirmed, not willing to argue about the semantics of their identities. He was well aware of how their kwamis changed their personalities, but it was nothing that wasn't a part of who they were as it was. It was nothing more than an extension of themselves. And if that were the case, then nothing had truly changed. "You're Ladybug, and I love you Marinette." Adrien looked passionately into her blue eyes. He was confident in his speech, and for a moment, he stood proudly, causing his entire body to lift slightly and placing more pressure on Marinette. He hadn't noticed until that moment, but he had naturally been crouching away from her. His gaze widened to look at the whole of her appearance and there was a slight bit of panic in his eyes, particularly as he noticed how ruffled her hair had become. She had forevermore done her hair in her signature pigtails, but leaning against the wall had pulled strands of it from their hold, and gave her a rather dishevelled appearance that was counterintuitive to their situation.

Marinette took a deep breath, deciding not to comment on his struggles. She had gone beyond her shock and became thoughtful once more.

"Adrien, I've loved you since the first day I met you. I, I know we didn't start out on the best of terms but…" He recalled how upset she had initially been with him as she was under the assumption he had placed gum on her seat. It was an honest mistake, he came to accept. However, he had never been under any impression that she had loved him. He thought her timid and kind, and particularly so with new people. He thought it was his fault that she felt uncomfortable. In away, he now knew, it _had_ been his fault. Regardless of her confession, the thing that really stuck out to him was her use of the past tense. "But I've pushed you away for so long as Chat Noir. And even when I loved you as Adrien, I hardly knew anything about the person that you were. That you are. I've been terrible to you. It's just that, I feel like I haven't earned the right to –."

"No Marinette. I've never once thought that way of you" He paused after interrupting her. He blurted it out and realized only after he had the moment to think, how misconstrued it sounded. "I never thought that were rude to me, or wrong to me. There were moments that were frustrating, I admit, but you loved someone else. That person happened to _also_ be me, but I understood and I still understand why you acted the way you did. In fairness, I did come on pretty strong. I can _maybe_ see how it got a _little bit_ annoying."

"Just a little bit," Marinette grinned, holding her forefinger and thumb close together and scrunching up her nose. He loved it when she did that. A part of him wished he could make out her freckles. His admiration of them could be saved for later on. He chuckled quietly at the intent and went on with his speech.

"Looking back at the way you treated me as Marinette, I never really realized it. I mean, you're right, you didn't really know Adrien when you first met me. In a way, I'm glad you realized that. But it's a little different now, right?" She nodded slightly. Adrien shifted again, pushing away at his discomfort and ignoring his desire to generate more movement. He coughed before speaking again, clearing his throat and calming his voice, making certain that none of his immediate thoughts and distractions escaped in his tone. "If anything, I wonder if I could earn your love for me." Marinette cocked her head to the side in wonder.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know if I treated you well enough as Marinette. You've always been so kind to me, regardless of the whether or not it was because you liked me, and, I learned it over time but it took me so long to see it. How could I have been so blind? How could I have been so blind as to not see the woman of my dreams right in front of me?" His gaze bore into her and she paralyzed for a moment by his words.

"Well, isn't that kind of the point of secret identities?" she replied, giving off as flirtatious an air as possible and appropriate.

"No, that's not what I meant Marinette. Sometimes I wonder, if I hadn't met Ladybug. If I hadn't known you as Ladybug, I wonder how long it would have taken me to realize how amazing you are. I wonder if I would have noticed at all. And I, I beat myself up over the fact that I didn't see you sooner. You're amazing Marinette and I hope I can earn your love. I feel like I haven't done anything to deserve it yet, but I hope I will."

"You have Chaton. You've done more than enough. I think, we've established pretty well that we both had our faults in, well, everything," she admitted, letting out a breathy laugh. "We weren't perfect to each other. We have our faults, but I think we can work them out, you know? I think, Tikki's right." A contented grin grew on her lips. He smiled back at her, lowering his forehead to meet hers.

"And what did she say?" he asked, recognizing the name of her kwami, which she had so unwittingly disclosed to him when he first met her. He smirked, feeling the air of their conversation simmer down. They talked about enough, had they not? Had they not come to their conclusion? One where they could both be, satisfied? Their conversation had been so serious, he had nearly forgotten about the tightness in his pants. Now that he remembered it, it was becoming a problem once again. Was there nothing he could do to get a hold of himself? He wanted to be romantic, not horny! Though, he _could_ make the best of either one. And he wasn't _particularly_ opposed, as long as she wasn't. He shook his waist back and forth ever so slightly, as to insight some sort of reaction.

"That we worry too much?" Marinette's reply was barely audible. She had lost focus on what she was saying. Her eyes became half lidded and she had tilted her head back just enough for their lips to slowly align. He could just about feel the warm of her breath.

"Really?" Adrien whispered. They were still only centimeters apart. Soon it would be millimeters. He didn't care about his pants anymore. There was no helping anything.

"Well, actually," Marinette amended briefly, "she said that _I_ worry too much. But I think we both do."

"We're not supposed to worry?" He pulled back, confused by her statement, and absurdly pleased with the yearning and distress in Marinette's expression as he did. Even if he did bump his head on the wall behind him. It was a harsh reminder that they were waiting for someone to find them. A reminder that he wasn't inclined on sharing with Marinette. A reminder he wasn't going to allow dictate whether or not his actions were rational.

"I don't think that's what she meant," Marinette panicked. He assumed that she genuinely thought he misunderstood and had insulted him in some way. Adrien only found this fact more endearing. "I think she meant that we're over thinking things, and that instead of doing that, we should just..." His hands cupped the sides of her jaw and he planted a swift kiss on her forehead. Her speech halted at the action. She was a loss for words. Meanwhile, Adrien was enjoying her flustered behavior too much to let up now. He kissed her right cheek bone, then her left, before speaking again. They were slow cautious kisses, ones he had hoped conveyed his love and longing for her.

"Just what?" he queried. There was no longer any sign of her deep blue eyes as she melted in his caresses. Her eyes fluttered as if she couldn't decide to enjoy herself or take action.

"Hm?" Marinette moaned, vaguely aware of his voice.

"Just what?" Adrien repeated, not so much looking for an answer anymore as he was playing with her. He remained tantalizingly close to her lips once more, knowing full well how discomforting it was for her. It took everything in his power to remain there. Despite how entertaining it was to tease her, he also had his own needs.

"Just, be happy." Marinette had finally said it, and with that word, got fed up with Adrien's dominance. She closed the gap between the two and her lips came crashing into his. Admittedly, if were not what he had been yearning for, he might have said something about how painful it was to have her kiss him so aggressively.

They could finish their conversation later. It was kind of difficult to have a serious discussion filled with heartfelt confessions and clarifications with a pretty, nay, beautiful, girl in a cramped space, while she was pressed up against him and grinding on the heat of his pants. To hell with formalities.

Marinette pressed her body into Adrien and rolled from top to bottom before making full, committed contact. He gasped at the sensation, breaking away from their kiss, and his hands quickly moved from the side of her cheeks to the small of her waist. Her hands lifted from the back wall and lay flat on his chest. In seconds, they inched their way to the nape of his neck and he could feel his heartbeat pulsating through his entire body. Her actions shook him to the core.

He had to breath. But he couldn't breath too much. He was breathing a little too much, and his mind, which was already swimming from the sensation of her touch, began to fade. Oxygen was filling the space he had, and it was causing his head to spin. He had to breath.

"Don't worry chaton," Marinette whispered, using her free hand to guide his jaw back to her lips. Her leg began to move deliberately against his groin, taking the opportunity to take charge over him, and her left hand began its slow descent down his chest. For a moment, he panicked at the idea that she would be so bold as to reach so far on his person, but he hadn't the energy to protest, nor did her lips leave him enough air to speak. Her cold delicate fingers sent electricity up and down his spine as they made contact with his abdomen beneath his shirt. He couldn't help but gasp and she grinned, clearly amused by her control. Instead of going where he had hoped she would, her hands crawled back up his chest, and he savored every touch of their skin.

Their movements were slow and deliberate. Neither was certain of what do to. And neither was certain what they could do. And so instead of certainty, they traded in their desires for comfort, caution, and the ability to cherish every moment of their intimacy.

Adrien followed Marinette's lead and slipped his own hands under her shirt, remaining mostly around the small of her waist and rising up the back. A part of him wondered if it would bother her if he undid her bra. It probably wasn't the best idea, regardless of her consent. They weren't exactly in the appropriate place to be considering that.

Now that the two of them had no more space between them, the space in the wall was suddenly much more spacious. Perhaps, if they had any inclination to, they could have easily left.

Marinette's breath was getting desperate, and Adrien was likely the same, though he was much more attuned to her actions than his own. She was kissing along the side of neck before he even realized what was happening, and he couldn't keep his heavy breathing silent. She was exploring more of him than he had initially been prepared for, and when he managed to guide her back to his lips, something distracted him.

Rather, it was less of a distraction and more of a surprise.

A blind light enveloped the entirety of his vision, causing his heart to nearly stop. The facts of the situation came flooding back to him like a rushing torrent of information and he reacted before he even realized who had interrupted them.

His hands ripped themselves away from Marinette, and head jerked back, his whole body slamming into the wall behind him. It hurt more than he would have cared to admit. Focusing his vision, he saw that Marinette had done the same. There was a look of panic in her eyes that suited his own; wide eyes, flushed cheeks, heaving breathes.

"Darn! I forgot to turn off flash!" Alya's voice echoed from the entrance to their hiding spot. Both heads turned to face her and saw her glasses illuminated by the light from her phone screen. Nino was standing not to far off. A mixture of shock, confusion, discomfort, and happiness clouded his face. Alya seemed too preoccupied with photography to notice his stat. She leaned over to him to show off the photo she had captured. "Oh but I definitely wouldn't have gotten this beautiful shot without it…"

The following that ensued was full of distress. Alya was overjoyed with the situation, and only through Marinette's insistence did she agree and understand why the photo couldn't be sent to their entire class. Adrien did have his image to consider, and that was ultimately the deciding factor. His Lady did, however, manage to convince her friend to send her the picture, which she promptly made her home screen photo on her phone, unbeknownst by most. Nino continued to remain in his state of shock, though after Alya interrogated Marinette to her own satisfaction, she tended to his mental wounds. He was finally left alone with her. Adrien reached out and grabbed hold of her hand, which she firmly grasped in response.

Things were going to be okay. Despite everything that happened in the last week, it was going to be okay. With her hand in his, he could just feel it.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** This whole chapter turned out so much longer than I anticipated and so I kind of split it in half. The arc is over, but I'm going to post one last chapter very soon with just a little bit of extra fluff. This was supposed to be a one chapter fluff fic. And it turned into 3 chapters of angst. I cannot plan these things correctly.

Welp. See you soon!


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